UN rights chief warns Afghanistan situation worsening

[JURIST] Afghanistan's human rights progress has been thwarted [UN News Centre report] by armed conflict, censorship, abuse of power, and violence against women, according to a report [text, PDF] delivered Thursday to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile]. The report says that addressing these problems requires addressing poverty, and that the Afghan government has a responsibility to help national institutions protect human rights. Pillay's report recommends that Afghanistan's government create a human rights unit in the Ministry of Justice [official website] to combat poverty faced by groups burdened by discrimination. The government must also ensure an impartial judiciary and law-enforcement body, and promote open and peaceful elections, the report says. Under Afghanistan's constitution [text], men and women have equal rights, but, according to the report, women are being prosecuted for acts Afghan law does not define as crimes: "The Government is failing to adequately protect the rights of women in Afghanistan despite constitutional guarantees and its international obligations." Another report [text, PDF] Pillay presented to the council Thursday suggests that 2008's food crisis, prompted by high food costs in the US, combined with the current economic crisis to negatively impact human-rights situations globally.

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